Mechanistically, TMAO induces oxidative stress and activates the ROS-TXNIP-NLRP3 inflammasome, increasing inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-18), impairing endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and nitric oxide (NO) production, and leading to endothelial dysfunction (Sun et al., 2016). Here, NLRP3 is linked to endothelial dysfunction.